Handmade Jewellery

'C' had a jewellery making competition at school. It had to be child friendly and something recycled. He was not comfortable putting small beads in a string so we decided to use nylon shimmer mesh as string with plastic rings over it. These rings are used with mirrors in tribal embroidery. Rings had yellow thread wrapped around them. Used an old  Lumba's (Ladies Rakhi) left over stone and crochet flower as pendant. Since it was all green and red, I added one satin yellow flower to add yellow color in pendant.
Told him how to put satin green ribbon in the hole of stone and then tie it with red shimmer mesh. After this, he had to put rings on the mesh and then adjust their spacing. He did it perfectly in school and stood first in his class.
It can be used as Christmas tree decoration also. So I'm submitting it as my second entry in artsy-crafty @mindfull-meanderings.

Shalini
Colours Dekor 'The Weekly Story'
Creative Bloggers' Party & Hop #39
Mymumscraftshopchallenges---Anything-goes #37

My Experiments in Knitting: 1

I do not know knitting much except for simple knitting style. I can not make designs unless somebody tells me how to make it. And I can not decipher knitting language also. Even with so limited knowledge, once in a while I venture into this domain and try to make sweaters, socks etc. for 'C'. Here is one sweater I had made and designed (I make up for design disadvantage by adding embroidery/ready made stickers/colours) four years back. 'C' was about 3 yrs. old and it came out very well.

Here is back view of the sweater:

Sorry for bad quality of this pic, I cropped it from a video in which kids are running. Here is a good one with front view:

I used three colors furry wool in this knit: light blue, black and light pink. On the front, I embroidered big heart shape and random alphabets. On one side of heart added two cloth stickers. One of the sticker is not clearly visible.
Since it was done four years back, now I only have photographs as my records. Sweater is long gone to a deserving one. It feels nostalgic to see it now. This was my first sweater for my little boy and I can vouch, it was the best. I had put in my heart:-) and mind into it.


Shalini
Linking it to: Colours Dekor 'The Weekly Story'
Creative Bloggers' Party & Hop #38 

Woolen Kurta and Dhoti pant for a little girl

I love giving handmade gifts and when I got a chance to make something for a little girl(2 yrs. old).....I had nothing but a dress in mind.

I looked into my stash for a cloth but could not decide which one to use. Then I received a gift: a woolen dress material. Noticing it was way too big for my dress, I decided to use that for little dress. Since it was woolen material, I thought of making shirt and pant kind of set.

First I cut my dress from the material and then set out on cutting girl's dress. A Kurta and salwar fitted the design and colour most. So here it is: a Kurta with full sleeves and a dhoti salwar. Sleeves have folded edges with salwar material. Have kept a shoulder open with buttons so that it easily gets into little body.

                               
Back view of kurta:

 

 Front view:

 

Salwar material was bit small so added a strip of kurta material in the belt portion of it.

Could not pester little princess to model it. Will post her photograph some other time.

AdithisAmmaSews has a giveaway going on her blog. Participate to win a vegan bag with other goodies.



Shalini

Liking it to:
Colours Dekor 'The Weekly Story'
Creative Bloggers' Party & Hop #37
Ta-Da Tuesday Link Party #17 

Dhoti Pant and Kurta for Boy

I had stitched Dhoti and Kurta for 'C' before Diwali but could not post it. So here it is now:

I had stitched one dhoti kurta for him in past also but that  style of Dhoti pant use to restrict his movement. So he was not very fond of wearing that. I somehow coaxed him to wear that 2-3 times for few hours. But now having grown up, he refused to wear dhoti if it was stitched in old manner. So I thought of making him this Dhoti which I was noticing in 'Balika Vadhuu'. I had to put in lots of thought since I could not find any pattern on net. I first made a doll dhoti and then based on that experience, cut this shimmer piece. Since this was first time, I chose wrong material but overall this dress looks nice. He puts a golden stole with this dress.

 Here is Dhoti alone:

I have done back stitch on neck and sleeves to perk up the Kurta. Closer view of Kurta:

After stitching I noticed AdithisAmmaSews had posted a tutorial for Dhoti pants and that was exactly how I had done it. This has grown my confidence many folds that I can sew properly.




Shalini
Linking it to: Colours Dekor 'The Weekly Story'
Creative Bloggers' Party & Hop #37
Ta-Da Tuesday Link Party #17 

Chubby Little Snowman

Chubby Little Snowman,
had a carrot nose.......

Recently Mr. Snowman visited our home and had his lunch. See how he sat:

'C' had to recite a rhyme in school and needed props for that. I made this chubby snowman with cotton, Newspaper and glue. Added a carrot nose and a hat with scarf (Its cold out here).........

 

All it took me was 30 mins. I made it all by myself. Conceptualized and then made. Have you ever tried making a snowman?

Edited: I've linked this post to Mindfull-meanderings's December Artsy-Craftsy.

Instructions: Take a newspaper and make a ball of it. Make one more ball half in size. Attach both the balls with each other using glue and tape. Now stick cotton on the structure. Make one hat using some thick paper and glue it to the head. Add Bindis as eyes and an orange cone(again made from paper and colored) as nose. Finally add a ribbon for scarf and it is done.
Kids (more than 6yrs old) can do most of the work by themselves.

Shalini

Linking it to :

Warli Obsession on Coasters

I am obsessed with Warli right now. I think of adding warli designs in one way or other to each and every work. Latest addition to the list is these coasters.

I got a set of six plain wooden coasters from Delhi Haat. Actually I was just about to leave them because trader was quoting too high price(they are china made) but hubby bought it for me.
We ('C' and I) painted them in different colours. Only two are complete as of now. Others are coloured but plain. I did this design with acrylic colours and gave a coat of  transparent varnish after drying.
I would use some wood paint on others because I feel that will give it more shine and texture. In fact I plan to repaint these also once I get wood paint. We have a dark rosewood colour dining table (seen here in Picture). Light colours suit it. So I've decided to go for Yellow, Orange and light Blue shades.
Tell me if you like these.........


Shalini
Linking it to :

Nuts are good for health

Winter is just around here in north. Markets are flooded with hot Peanuts. I remember my childhood days spent sitting in sun and eating lots of peanuts. I can not think of such leisure these days. But can always benefit from nuts by eating them every now and then.

Completed Girls's Top

Here is completed Top which I had talked about in this post.

Frizzy Hair.....gone in days

"Mumma, why your hair don't look neatly combed like mine"(Aapke bal bikhre kyun rehte hai, mere to nahi rahte). I was surprised at my six year old's observation. It was first time when he had said something about my appearance.

"In Rainy season my hair becomes frizzy and I can not make them look neat". He looked satisfied. Then suddenly, "Why don't you use something to make them look flat".

From here started my quest to remove frizzles. Here is me with my curly and frizzy hair:

Peeling Vegetables and Fruits

All of us try to eat as many fruits and vegetables as possible, courtesy heightened awareness about health benefits. But do we actually get all benefits? Almost all of us peel vegetables like potatoes, carrots, cucumbers etc. before eating (we do it out of habit) and throw away nutrients stashed in and below their rinds/peels.

Okay....we do it to remove pesticides lunging on them. But there are better ways to remove them. Washing them thoroughly by scrubbing under water or with some vegetable wash can do the same job and will maintain nutrients as well.

Lehanga for Diwali

As discussed in earlier post, I stitched this ghaghra (Lehanga) for my niece. I used an old net saree, a brocade material (for lining) and a cotton lining.

Sprouting

"Having sprouts is good for health and it must be included in our daily diets"
So many of us must have heard this either from grandma or a doctor. But how it happens actually. What difference does sprouting create in that moong dal?

Top in Progress

Sewing a top for my niece. It is not yet done but have a look at this work in progress.......

Soaking Beans

Beans are a very good source of protein, fibre, starch, Vitamins and minerals (iron, potassium, magnesium, Zinc etc). But we still do not get all beneficial nutrients from eating them and end up being mineral deficient; just because we do not follow proper cooking techniques.

All beans (in fact all grains) has phytic acid in their outer covering. This phytic acid reacts with proteins and minerals especially Zinc and stops their absorption in our intestine. This makes beans difficult to digest.

Amount of phytic acid can be reduced by soaking, cooking, germinating or fermenting beans. Soaking has many benefits:

• Soaking softens beans, reducing their cooking time considerably.

• Soaking increases vitamin (especially Vitamin B) content of beans.

• Helps in increased absorption of minerals by reducing phytic acid (cooking them further reduces phytic acid).

Baking Soda

Many of us (even our mothers, grandmothers) swear by Baking soda for preserving colour of vegetables and for shortening cooking time of beans.
Ever wondered how cooking time comes down just by adding a pinch of it?
Actually, Baking soda increases absorption of water in beans and softens beans further, thus reducing time taken for cooking.
One more reason for using soda in cooking beans is, many people believe, it prevents flatulence caused by beans.
We also use it as leavening agent in cakes, breads to raise their dough. Soda reacts with liquid and produces carbon dioxide bubbles which gets trapped by dough.
These all are good reasons for using soda but there is a negative side. Baking soda reacts with nutrients present in food and destroys (almost) vitamin B (mainly thiamin). So when you are cooking with soda in beans, we sure you are not getting any of its vitamin B which is vital for our body.
Though goods are outnumbering bad, losing Vitamins is a big deal. Goods can be achieved using other methods but vitamin loss can not be reversed.
Colour of vegetables can be preserved by proper cooking time and proper ways (like cooking on low flame) while flatulence can be managed by not eating beans in dinner and combining them with lighter foods.




Shalini
Image taken from Internet.

Linking it to

Pen Stand by recycling Floppies

Made a pen stand from using old, discarded floppies yesterday. Used three floppies as three sides and put a hard cardboard as base.

(You can see print on the floppy on the inner side).
After I joined all four pieces, 'C' stuck paper strips using papermache technique. Then gave two thin coats of glue. 'C' did base colouring and I drew warli figures on it. Finally gave three more coats of glue.
Here is the final product.

Shalini
Linking it to :

My Other Passion........

I am not a good cook, just manage to cook for the sake of my foodie family. Many fellow bloggers were of great help in this. Hundreds of  times I have opened their pages to go through their version of recipes.

I am not a foodie, in fact a very bad eater. I can eat anything without taste also(my hubby's version).

I started this blog to share my passion for crafts with all of you. Earlier I use to be lazy and did not give much importance to my creations because creating them was part of my existence. Very recently I've started to take it seriously and am trying to post most of the things I create.

By now you all must be wondering...............what is it with all this ranting. Well, I shared one of my passion but did not share my passion for healthy and nutritious food. I like to cook healthy food and in healthy manner. Few days back while searching for some cooking methods, I came across many things which I did not know or follow (ignorant me!!!). This got me started. I decided to store them somewhere and what better way than to have it on my blog.

From today onwards, every Thursday, I'll be posting some healthy cooking tip/method/blah blah on this blog. I know you must be knowing them already. So, your expert comments are welcome and I'd love to read them and improve my cooking ways.

Today I'm starting with a recent fade; I have suddenly seen a spurt in number of pro-biotic food items available off the shelves. Everybody is suddenly adding one bottle in their daily diet. Mothers are happy to feed their kids one of these products because they enhance immunity. Very true. They improve our immunity,  but we were always using the benefits of bacterias(pro-biotics). A very simple example is: Curd.

Now I come to the point: How does they help in improving our health and what all we can eat for this.

A good and natural way to introduce pro-biotics in food is fermentation. Some benefits of fermentation are:

• Increases the taste and flavours.
• Increases antibodies which fight with infections.
• In case of curd, fermentation converts lactose of milk to lactic acid, which is easily digestible by our body.
• Some fermentations improve antioxidants in food and we all know their benefits.
• Fermentation improves essential vitamins, nutrients in food and even generates new nutrients. E.g. When we ferment dough, its vitamin B content improves drastically.
• Bacterias form a natural shield in our intestine and thus inhibit pathogen growth inside.

I prefer Curd, home made Bread, Idli, Dosa, Uttapam, Dhokla and sometimes Bhature etc. to add bacterias in my cooking than gulping down a bottle of probiotic.

Hope you find this information useful.


Shalini

Linking this to: Colours Dekor the weekly story 
Image taken from Internet.

Papermache Babushka doll

We (me and 'C') had made a papermache babushka doll long time back but somehow did not post it.
Here it is:

Used a balloon as base for papermache and added one cardboard ring as the bottom to let it stand. Though I could not draw nice features ('C' says it looks somewhat angry), we still love it.



Shalini

Linking this to : Colours Dekor the weekly Story

Happy Onam.....

Shalini


(Image taken from smsnshayari.com)

Repurposed Pouch

'C' was in need of a colour box to store his crayons. I did not want to give him a normal pencil box or a plain plastic box. I wanted something where he could properly store his crayons and easily handle them also. After much brainstorming, I suddenly remembered a pouch which was lying unused for quite sometime and decided to change it according to his needs. Here is original pouch from inside:

 

 I removed pocket and elastic band and added another band for his crayons.

 

(Did not have a black band, anyway white is looking good.)

 

All inside neat and safe. I plan to change its outer maroon piping also, but that will happen some other day. Hope he is able to use it properly.

Shalini

I'm linking this to :

Transformation Thursdays.

The ShabbyNest

Story Telling

'C' had a story telling competition in school on Saturday. I found an easy (yes, because he had to memorize it) story here. Used puppets as props but problem was having a background for puppets. After toying with whole lot of ideas, decided to give him a background on a chart hanging from his neck. We made two fish and one picnic basket. 'C' painted a rock, shell, boot and sea weed which we pasted on the chart in a manner that top area of all of them was unpasted(red fish had to hide there).

Story goes like this 'Big blue fish is hungry and calling small red fish. Red fish is afraid that big fish will eat it so tries different places to hide, but every time big fish can see her tail. And finally while hiding inside the boot, red fish is unable to escape and comes to know that blue fish is having a picnic and want her to have picnic with her.'

Here is a pic:

(Cropped his face).




Shalini

Linked to Colors Decor 'The Weekly Story'

New Kurta

I stitched a kurta(Top) for myself few days back. Though this is not one of my best creations (I have stitched so many in some 10-12 years but do not have pictures of them). I team it up with a white churidaar and white dupatta. Here are pictures of my creation.

Front view of the kurta

This one is back side...

 

Closer view of the neck.

 

Shalini

Another Glass Painting

I recently painted one more ganesh on glass. Have a look.

Shalini

Money Envelopes from Wedding Cards

Made some money envelopes with wedding cards.

Shalini

Happy Holi......

Happy Holi to all of you................






Shalini

(Image from DesiComments.com)